All Tomorrow's Parties 2008: Day 3

Festivus

[Above: His Holiness Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine]

A new flyer went up around Kutsher's late on the second day of All Tomorrow's Parties' New York debut. Earplugs would be available, for free and in large quantities, for everyone. Smart people (like me) had already brought their own: the unofficial reports from My Bloody Valentine's London shows was that they were reaching 132 decibels during their set, which is just slightly softer than a jet taking off.

That seemed a long way off when I went out to Kutsher's golf course the next morning, where the grounds were nearly empty. The golf course was maybe the only part of Kutsher's that could be called well-maintained, or it at least it looked that way when I went to meet a friend doing nine holes (I came just to drive the cart). Since today was the last day, the afternoon was a rush of activities to check off. I rowed out to the middle of their pond, visited the swingsets at Kutsher's rusty playground, and tried the food court's chili.

[Above: EPMD]

People were showing signs of exhaustion by the time the bands started. Still, legends like EPMD inspired audiences to put their hands in the air (and over their heads). EPMD aside, many of the other acts sounded sort of like My Bloody Valentine, which isn't surprising considering MBV had chosen the night's line-up. Lilys, Mercury Rev and Yo La Tengo may not sound alike, but they were spiritual cousins in terms of dreamy atmospherics and pillowy walls of sound. Mogwai were cousins too, in terms of volume: more that one song had the insides of my ears vibrating in spite of my earplugs.

[Above: Yo La Tengo]

[Above: Mogwai]

I cut out of Brian Jonestown Massacre early and skipped Dinosaur Jr because I expected the staff to clear out the venue between sets as they had been doing all night. Unfortunately, I was wrong: the staff, probably as exhausted as the audience was, didn't have the energy to make people leave before My Bloody Valentine hit the stage. It was a mad rush to get a spot in clear view of the evening's star attraction, guitarist Kevin Shields. Every moment before the show stretched out as the Stardust Ballroom saw its biggest crowd of the festival. "Shoegaze my ass off," demanded someone behind me when, a half-hour after their scheduled start-time, the band had still not appeared.

[Above: My Bloody Valentine]

When they finally came out the applause was loud; then the show was louder. Earplugs went in from the first moment of Loveless' "I Only Said," and stayed in until a 20 minute wall of pure guitar noise and feedback during "You Made Me Realise." At this point, I removed one earplug just to see what it was like without it, but I quickly replaced it as the rumble made me feel like I was hearing too much, then nothing at all. A couple in front of me danced to the wordless, melody-less noise, while another pair put their heads in their hands, then silently left early, defeated. Once My Bloody Valentine was finished, people seemed to be applauding themselves as much as the band. My friends and I all returned to our hotel rooms after the show. After that much sound, silent sleep became the most appropriate celebration.